How bad is the auto in the MK4 tdi's

[CanadianALH]

I bought my MK4 jetta tdi a few months ago and absolutely love it. My wife owns a 2011 ford escape right now and the tranny is begining to do very weird things. I was thinking of selling it and buying a nice mk4 alh wagon or passat wagon. But with a auto as it would be nicer for her to drive than a manual and we need the room for our german shepherd. I know they are "slush boxes" but if treated nicely and maintained how long will it last? Or what is the life when looking for one?

 

[burpod]

the 09A auto trans in the 2004-2005 TDIs (BEW engine) is pretty robust. wife's has 278k on it and running fine. the 2003 and earlier (alh engine) automatics are terrible tho. ticking time bombs..... by all accounts. never personally owned one myself.

 

[lost1wing]

the 09A auto trans in the 2004-2005 TDIs (BEW engine) is pretty robust. wife's has 278k on it and running fine. the 2003 and earlier (alh engine) automatics are terrible tho. ticking time bombs..... by all accounts. never personally owned one myself.

You are correct, they are junk. Surging, slipping among other things. The valve body could solve some things if you don't break the ribbon cable. You can replace that too. I have two that slip, one locked up and one that is waiting to fail. Oh and one on the bench for practice.

 

[CanadianALH]

How does the BEW compare to the ALH as far as reliability and such. The reason I bought the ALH is because they are simple and don’t have the cam wear issue.

 

[lost1wing]

I think the first year bew had some of the cam issues. Still a good motor, but fuel economy dropped. My roommate at the time had an alh and traded it in for an 04 tdi. He had a few émission problems and power issues. It was taken care of in warranty. He said he missed the ALH. Then he picked up a recalled tdi for nothing. Had it modified to work and he is still driving it.

 

[CanadianALH]

Hum. I will do more research. I was hoping the ALH auto was better than I had read but it seems to be the case that it sucks. She is definitely open to learning to drive standard and maybe that is what we will do so we can say goodbye to the ford lol.

 

[wonneber]

How does the BEW compare to the ALH as far as reliability and such. The reason I bought the ALH is because they are simple and don’t have the cam wear issue.

I have 50K on mine with no engine problems.

 

[CanadianALH]

I have 50K on mine with no engine problems.

Like you have put 50k on it on top of previous mileage or 50k total?

 

[P2B]

How does the BEW compare to the ALH as far as reliability and such. The reason I bought the ALH is because they are simple and don’t have the cam wear issue.

At this point all MK4s are 20 years old, give or take. I would be basing my decision on the overall condition and maintenance history of the specimen under consideration, rather than the merits of ALH vs BEW.

 

[Nuje]

Hum. I will do more research. I was hoping the ALH auto was better than I had read but it seems to be the case that it sucks. She is definitely open to learning to drive standard and maybe that is what we will do so we can say goodbye to the ford lol.

The low-end torque of the diesel engine makes it very forgiving to those learning to drive stick. If she's willing to try, I don't think there's a better car to try with. Just get someone else to teach her - or...if your relationship can withstand the test of one teaching the other to drive a stick....that's a sign of a long future together.

 

[Shenandoah]

Knock on wood......I've got a 2005 Jetta wagon (BEW) with the 09a. It's at 448k. I replaced the solenoids around 225k? Just drained and replaced 3.25 quarts of fluid in it the other week. Still keeps on going.......

Eric

 

[CanadianALH]

Alright I’ll keep my eye out. It is becoming really tough here in Alberta to find a clean one for reasonable money.

 

[pkhoury]

the 09A auto trans in the 2004-2005 TDIs (BEW engine) is pretty robust. wife's has 278k on it and running fine. the 2003 and earlier (alh engine) automatics are terrible tho. ticking time bombs..... by all accounts. never personally owned one myself.

I've owned 4 - two I bought to fix and flip (one of them already sold, with a nice $2400 profit after doing the timing belt and other maintenance items), and two personal cars. I didn't even bother with the 01M in DSOL; it came out and was replaced with a 02J... which is getting replaced with a 02J that has a Wavetrac installed in it.

The other is in my Ute. For $hits and giggles, I was curious how well it towed an empty aluminum livestock trailer about 80 miles round trip. I think the transmission slipped some, but it did NOT want to stay in 4th. It was in 2nd and 3rd A LOT. Ran like absolute dog $hit. But it still ran otherwise when not towing. Sold it as a rebuildable core on ebay and I think I got $275 for that POS.

 

[pkhoury]

How does the BEW compare to the ALH as far as reliability and such. The reason I bought the ALH is because they are simple and don’t have the cam wear issue.

ALHs can still wear on the cam, just nothing like a PD engine. I've owned both a BEW and an ALH, though I've had the BEW for more miles. So far, I much prefer the ALH, though the BEW had some good torque to it, and was A LOT louder (all cars having similar mods and whatnot).

Like everyone says, the transmission in the BEW is a lot more stout. I have mom's 2005 BEW wagon I'm trying to sell, which has the 09A in it.

And I totally get needing room with German Shepherds; both mine love car rides. The Golfs are like their second den.

 

[dieseldonato]

The low-end torque of the diesel engine makes it very forgiving to those learning to drive stick. If she's willing to try, I don't think there's a better car to try with. Just get someone else to teach her - or...if your relationship can withstand the test of one teaching the other to drive a stick....that's a sign of a long future together.

I found it far easier to just let her keep driving automatics.... after she constantly stalled my trooper, in 4l and tried to let her drive my first gen cummins, which she could pull out in, but it really hurt my soul the way she did it lol.

 

[dieseldonato]

I have a co-worker with an 04 auto tdi. His trans is starting to act up now that he's getting close to the 200k mark. I'm actually trying to talk him into selling it to me or doing a manual swap. He doesn't seem into doing the sawp and he's already told me he gave under $1k for the car when he bought it years ago.

 

[burpod]

the PD should be a lot quieter than the alh, unless something is wrong, or maybe if tuned + straight pipe. i really love the PD engine. changing out the cam if it does wear every 200k isn't a big deal, not a difficult job. they are capable of just as good of mpg as the alh. 49mpg daily driving average in wife's BEW with vnt17, with an automatic, and my tune, it sees quite a few short trips and tooting around town, and often 75-80mph on the highway when i drive it.... my my old 2005 with a rocketchip tune and tall 5th 17/22 turbo, i had no trouble getting 50-55mpg daily driving, and driving conservatively and keeping speeds down, had a couple 62mpg tanks many years ago. changing the injectors is a bit more involved, but doable, and getting them tuned right is a bit more effort in some ways, at least when you go beyond stock fueling. if i had to "redo" my mk1 swap i think i would have gone with a BEW swap as the mk1 is already just rather loud and jittery.

 

[AndyBees]

Ironically, last night I was going thru old records in my laptop. I stumbled onto the info of a friend's 2001 New Beetle TDI. Actually, it belonged to his daughter. I changed the Timing Belt twice on it (100k mile intervals). The last TB change, he asked about the auto transmission fluid service. At the time, I had never done one (on any TDI). It was at 336k miles... the plastic cover on the fill hole was OE (never been removed). I did the fluid change, filter, etc. If I remember correctly, he purchased the car at 125k miles... So, that was one of those transmissions that defied the odds...

 

[CanadianALH]

I've owned 4 - two I bought to fix and flip (one of them already sold, with a nice $2400 profit after doing the timing belt and other maintenance items), and two personal cars. I didn't even bother with the 01M in DSOL; it came out and was replaced with a 02J... which is getting replaced with a 02J that has a Wavetrac installed in it.

The other is in my Ute. For $hits and giggles, I was curious how well it towed an empty aluminum livestock trailer about 80 miles round trip. I think the transmission slipped some, but it did NOT want to stay in 4th. It was in 2nd and 3rd A LOT. Ran like absolute dog $hit. But it still ran otherwise when not towing. Sold it as a rebuildable core on ebay and I think I got $275 for that POS.

I love tdi guys. “Towed an empty stock trailer around for laughs”! Any other platform you’d have guys sounding off in the comments about how dangerous and over the legal limit and blah blah blah. Us here we are like “yes that is something I’d do for fun as well”. Reading stuff like this makes my day and helps me remember there are still some people who dare to live a little left out there.

 

[AndyBees]

I love tdi guys. “Towed an empty stock trailer around for laughs”! Any other platform you’d have guys sounding off in the comments about how dangerous and over the legal limit and blah blah blah. Us here we are like “yes that is something I’d do for fun as well”. Reading stuff like this makes my day and helps me remember there are still some people who dare to live a little left out there.

Two trips up the Alaska highway 2014 & 16) with this ALH powered 84 Vanagon pulling the camper............ over 25k miles on the two trips with no major issues. The camper weighs a smidgen over 1200 lbs (544 kg) and generally had another 100 lbs of stuff as well as no less than 400 lbs of camping stuff inside the Van. (over 26 mpg average on each trip) I posted this primarily because there were a number of naysayers in particularly one VW forum that I'm a member.

 

[pkhoury]

the PD should be a lot quieter than the alh, unless something is wrong, or maybe if tuned + straight pipe. i really love the PD engine. changing out the cam if it does wear every 200k isn't a big deal, not a difficult job. they are capable of just as good of mpg as the alh. 49mpg daily driving average in wife's BEW with vnt17, with an automatic, and my tune, it sees quite a few short trips and tooting around town, and often 75-80mph on the highway when i drive it.... my my old 2005 with a rocketchip tune and tall 5th 17/22 turbo, i had no trouble getting 50-55mpg daily driving, and driving conservatively and keeping speeds down, had a couple 62mpg tanks many years ago. changing the injectors is a bit more involved, but doable, and getting them tuned right is a bit more effort in some ways, at least when you go beyond stock fueling. if i had to "redo" my mk1 swap i think i would have gone with a BEW swap as the mk1 is already just rather loud and jittery.

I actually did get fairly decent mpg out of my BEW as well, but I also took that on a lot of cross country trips to locales that were much flatter. I get decent FE on my ALH as well when I'm in flatter locales, just not in most of Texas Hill Country, where I'm usually getting 38-40mpg average.

Every BEW I've owned has been straight piped, and they are LOUD!

 

[pkhoury]

I love tdi guys. “Towed an empty stock trailer around for laughs”! Any other platform you’d have guys sounding off in the comments about how dangerous and over the legal limit and blah blah blah. Us here we are like “yes that is something I’d do for fun as well”. Reading stuff like this makes my day and helps me remember there are still some people who dare to live a little left out there.

Well, there was another ulterior motive that I'd rather not say publically. I think the fastest I got with that 5x10 aluminum stock trailer was about 55-60? It was pretty painful. Heck, it's painful in an ALH with proper mods. The trailer is actually really light (like 700 pounds), but its footprint is like towing a parachute, so higher speeds are painful.

When I picked up our second to last bull, I did it with that trailer and possibly my BEW Golf (or it could've been my now wrecked ALH Golf). I couldn't justify using the F-450 at 12mpg just to pick up a tiny 350-ish pound bull. Still got like 21-22mpg and the car was much more comfortable than a single cab truck.

 

[dieseldonato]

Not that I tow with my jetta, or even have a hitch on it for that matter, but I'll play vehicle swap depending on the weight I'll be hauling. The expedition is much more comfortable riding then my f250, and it gets better mpg. Does t have near the power but it works for lighter stuff.

 

[wonneber]

Like you have put 50k on it on top of previous mileage or 50k total?

Just over 50K total on the car.

 

[burpod]

netted my first 50mpg+ tank in my wifes BEW vnt17 automatic (50.2) with daily driving. last 4-5 months it's been consistently getting 45-48mpg. given the conditions, if it were to see more consistent highway miles (and driven a bit slower) i have no doubt it would be getting a few mpg better, and i think it might also have had a sticky front caliper for a while. this is of course self-tuned. back when stock or on an "other" tune, it never got this kind of mpg.. same driving conditions iirc it probably saw 42-43mpg. winter mpg took a much bigger hit on the old pro tune. it also has seen many towings of the 5x8 trailer. it's only a 7mi round trip to the dump, but i have gone there many, many times with it hauling 3000lb payload of dirt + weight of trailer and it handles it fine. of course i drive it easy, but it has zero problem pulling it. a good number of trips to lowes too to get sheetrock/lumber. so from my experience, it's a pretty decent transmission. for an enthusiast, it's a drag to drive vs a manual, you just feel the power being sucked out and the shifting is just "meh" but for your average driver it's not bad.

if you're cruising with light load, it will shift into 5th even down at 1250rpm.. wish i knew how to change that as i feel it's a bit low, i'd rather see 1400-1500rpm for 5th. but with good tuning/health, a tdi can cruise quite with light load nicely <1500rpm and still have a good amount of pickup if you need it even in the taller gears.